Dec 24, 2012

Southeast Asian nations and India vowed on Thursday to step up
cooperation on maritime security, a move that comes amid tension with China in
the potentially oil- and gas-rich South China Sea.

In a vision statement agreed at a
summit in New Delhi, India and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) set their sights on a new "strategic partnership"
that would bring closer political, security and economic cooperation.

Significantly, they underlined
the need for freedom of navigation, a contentious issue because of competing
claims with Beijing over parts of the South China Sea, though there was no
mention of China in their statement.

In speeches, the Philippines and
Vietnam referred to tensions in their region, but India's foreign minister
sought to distance New Delhi from the wrangling over the South China Sea.

"There are fundamental
issues there that do not require India's intervention," External Affairs
Minister Salman Kurshid told a news conference, adding that issues of
sovereignty "need to be resolved between the countries concerned".

An ASEAN summit ended in acrimony
last month over China's assertiveness in the South China Sea, with its leaders
failing to agree on a concluding joint statement.

The South China Sea has become
Asia's biggest potential military flashpoint as Beijing's sovereignty claim
over a huge, looping area has set it against Vietnam and the Philippines as the
three countries race to tap possibly huge oil reserves. Malaysia and Brunei,
also members of ASEAN, as well as Taiwan also claim parts of the sea.

Other members of ASEAN include
Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia and Laos.

Last month, China announced a
plan to board and search ships that illegally enter what it considers its
territory in the South China Sea, prompting ASEAN's secretary-general to warn
that the move could spark naval clashes.

"At this time of rising
concerns about maritime issues, the need to maintain a high level of maritime
security and freedom of navigation offers us ... an opportunity for enhanced
cooperation," Philippines Vice President Jejomar Binay said.

INDIAN OCEAN ROUTES

Although India has no territorial
claim in the region, it is hungry for energy and is exploring for oil and gas
with Vietnam in an area contested by China. In future, it is expected to ship
liquefied natural gas from Russia through the Malacca Straits.

This month, India's navy chief
said he was ready to deploy vessels to the South China Sea to protect
exploration interests there if needed. Last year, an Indian navy ship was
challenged for entering 'Chinese waters' off the coast of Vietnam.

Indonesian President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono told the summit that closer maritime cooperation with India
was needed because 70 percent of the world's traffic in petroleum products
passes through the Indian Ocean from the Middle East to East Asia.

"While the center of the
global economy is shifting eastward, the Indian and Pacific Oceans have been
and will become even more important in providing the vital sea routes for trade
and commerce," Yudhoyono said.

The New Delhi summit underscored
India's growing role in one of the world's fastest-growing regions.

Twenty years after India launched
a 'Look East' diplomatic push to promote trade with a neglected neighboring
region, the relationship is finally beginning to gain traction. Annual trade
has nearly doubled in four years and India's growing economic clout make it
appealing as a balance to other Asian powers.

However, China's trade relations
and links with ASEAN are far deeper than India's.

Ian Storey, senior fellow of the
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, said many ASEAN nations want
to see all major powers playing a role in their region so it is not dominated
by one or two players, in particular China.

"So that presence by India
in Southeast Asia would provide them additional hedging options," he said.

Ross Colvin

Reuters

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